Forward draw revolver holster

ABSTRACT

A forward draw holster having a body closed at the rear and lower end and open at the front, a U-shaped spring having its arms enclosed in pockets in the body, the lower portions of said pockets being rearwardly curved, the lower portion of the spring being similarly curved and enclosed in the curved portions of said pockets, the bight at the lower end of the spring spanning the pistol-accommodating space between the opposite sides of the holster body and provided with a non-metallic element residing in said space, said element being interposed between the bight of the spring and the end of the muzzle of a revolver disposed in the holster. The closed rear of the holster has an opening to accommodate the trigger and guard of such revolver to thereby reduce the front to rear dimension of the holster. The holster is provided with a hanger element affixed to one side thereof, the upper portion of which is spaced from said side of the holster. A retainer strap to guard the hammer of a pistol in said holster, one end of said strap being pivotally attached to the side of the holster away from the hanger and the other end having quick release engagement with a member interposed between the firstmentioned side of the holster and the hanger element.

221 Filed:

Boren Feb. 11, 1975 i 1 FORWARD DRAW REVOLVER HOLSTER Paul D. Boren, 9426 Portada Dr., Whittier, Calif. 90603 Dec. 14, 1973 [21] App]. No.: 425,175

[76] Inventor:

[52] U.S. Cl 224/2 B [5 I] Int. C1. F411: 33/02 [58] Field of Search 224/2 8, 2 C, 2 F, 2 D,

224/2E.lR,5R,5A,5B,26R,26B,5E

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,001,321 5/1935 Berns 224/2 B 3,642,183 2/1972 Boren 224/2 B 3,749,293 7/1973 Bianchi 224/2 8 Primary ExaminerRobert .l. Spar Assistant Examiner-Jerold M. Forsberg [57] ABSTRACT A forward draw holster having a body closed at the rear and lower end and open at the front, a U-shaped spring having its arms enclosed in pockets in the body, the lower portions of said pockets being rearwardly curved, the lower portion of the spring being similarly curved and enclosed in the curved portions of said pockets, the bight at the lower end of the spring spanning the pistol-accommodating space between the opposite sides of the holster body and provided with a non-metallic element residing in said space, said element being interposed between the bight of the spring and the end of the muzzle of a revolver disposed in the holster. The closed rear of the holster has an opening to accommodate the trigger and guard of such revolver to thereby reduce the front to rear dimension of the holster. The holster is provided with a hanger element affixed to one side thereof. the upper portion of which is spaced from said side of the holster. A retainer strap to guard the hammer of a pistol in said holster, one end of said strap being pivotally attached to the side of the holster away from the hanger and the other end having quick release engagement with a member interposed between the first-mentioned side of the holster and the hanger element.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENIEI] FEB] H975 SHEEI 10F 2 II'IIIIII I l FORWARD DRAW REVOLVER HOLSTER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention is related to safety in carrying slow arms in forward draw holsters and speeding the draw of such arms.

While forward draw pistol holsters are known, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,001,32l and 3,630,420, as in the use of spring means, as disclosed in the latter patent, the present invention embodies at least the following features not present in the above mentioned patents: they are compact holster design eliminating rear overhang, such as shown in said U.S. Pat. No. 2,00l ,321; hammer strap design that prevents unauthorized release thereof and resultant safety to the wearer; and holster-closing spring design that permits efficient severing involvement of the pistol to properly present the muzzle thereof toward a target.

An object of the present invention is to provide a forward draw revolver holster that is compact in size, has front-closing spring means that suitably guides the muzzle of a pistol for aiming thereof through the front-open edges of the holster, and is provided with a quick release strap to guard the hammer of the pistol disposed in the holster, said strap being readily releasable only by the wearer of the holster but so arranged that unauthorized release of such strap is difficult to accomplish.

This invention also has for its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description, which is based on the accompanying drawing. However, said drawing merely shows, and the following specification merely describes, one embodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration of example only.

In the drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a Forward Draw Revolver Holster, according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view as taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view as taken on the line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of a spring shown in full lines in the condition thereof as formed and in dotdash lines, in condition thereof when embodied in the holster walls.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of said spring in its initially formed condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The holster that is illustrated comprises, generally, a two-ply forward draw body 10, said body being provided with a hanger 11 for supporting said body from the belt of the person carrying said holster and the revolver housed therein, a unitary spring 12 housed in said body to retain the front edges of the body closed and designed to yield to forward movement of the revolver barrel and muzzle to allow the revolver to be drawn, a' safety strap 14 over the hammer of the revolver to retain the latter in the holster, and a quick release member l5 for retaining strap 14 in revolverenclosing position.

The holster body 10 is made of leather and comprises an outer ply 20 and an inner ply 21. The outer configurations of both plies are coincidental, each comprising a single sheet of leather or like material. The inner ply has two cut-out rectangular areas 22 that are enclosed by coincidental portions of the outer ply.

Considered as a unit, the form of the body blank, before the same is formed into the body 10, has a middle portion 23 of a height dimension that is somewhat less than half of the height dimension of two wing-shaped portions 24 extending from opposite sides of the middle portion 23. Each wing portion has a forwardly sloping upper edge 25, a vertical forward edge 26, a slightly convex lower edge 27, and an upwardly directed rearward edge 28. As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the wing portions have a vertical extent that is somewhat greater than twice the vertical extent of the blank portion 23.

It will be seen from FIG. 1 that the two plies 20 and 24 are joined by suitable stitching 29 that follows the vertical edges 26 to the upper edges 25 where the same continue as a line of stitching that follows the edges 25 of the body blank, the latter line of stitching 30 continuing as stitching 3] along the upper edge of the middle portion 23 that is formed as a half-round body portion from which the wing portions 24 extend and which form the oppositesides of the holster body when folding of the middle portion 23 brings said sides into substantial parallelism, as in FIG. 3. The forward edge portions of said body sides 24 are bent toward each other to provide a narrow front space 32, said space tapering toward the upper ends of the forward edges 26 of the holster body 10 and touching at 33 under bias of the spring 12, as will be later described.

From the lower ends of edges 26 where the stitches 29 begin, the bottom edges 27 and the rear edges 28 of the body portions 24 are connected by a line of stitching 34 that extends to the lower edge of the middle portion 23, thereby closing said lower and rear portions of the holster body.

As shown in FIG. 1. the width across the upper portion of the holster is somewhat greater than across the portion below the middle portion to accommodate the barrel and adjacent portions of a revolver. The trigger and its guard in forward draw holsters are usually enclosed by a rearward extension of the holster body. In the present case, an elongated opening 35 is provided in the folded middle portion 23 to allow the trigger and guard of the revolver to project therethrough thereby enabling the provision, in such a holster, of a trimmer rearward portion than is common in forward draw holsters, thereby enabling the user to grip the revolver grip and the trigger with minimum interference.

The spring 12 that is illustrated is formed of a single length of spring wire that is so bent, as in the full lines of FIG. 5, as to have a rounded bight 36 from which elongated arms 37 extend in a cross-over relationship.

In addition, said arms 37, in the portions thereof adjacent the bight 36, are each formed to have a curved portion 38 that connects the bight 36 to the straight ends of arms 37.

The above-described spring has the function, when incorporated in the holster body, to draw the forward edges 26 of said body into contact with the portions that join the sloping edges 25 of the body. To accommodate spring 12, a pocket 39 is provided in each portion 24 of said body. Said pockets are shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, to be enclosed partly by stitching 29, 30 and 34, and partly by lines of stitching 40 and 41. It will be noted from FIG. I that the general shape of said pockets 39 conforms to the spring 12 as shown in FIG. 6 so as to accommodate the arms 37 of said spring as well as the bight thereof.

In the lower portions of FIGS. 1 and 2 and in FIG. 4 it will be seen that the bight 36 of the spring is housed partly in each pocket 39 of the two wing portions 24 of the holster body, the same extending through openings 42 in the revolver-accommodating space of the body 10. To obviate abrasive contact of the end of the revolver muzzle with said spring bight, a non-metallic member 43 is strung on the bight 36. Said muzzle cannot be harmed by adjacent portions of the bight 36 due to the interposition of said member 43 as the muzzle is being swung to firing position and when being bolstered The openings may be in the form of slots 42 that extend upwardly from the lower edges 27 of the inner ply 21. Thus, the spring arms 27 may be introduced between the plies into the pockets 22 with the member 43 between the dies 24. after the stitching 29, 30, 31, 40 and 41 have been applied. It is then that the body portions are folded over and the stitching 34 is applied to retain the body of the holster in the revolver holding form shown.

It will be noted from FIGS. 2 and 4 that the rounded form of the spring bight 36 is transversely wider than is the transverse space between the spring arms 37, and particularly from FIG. 2 that the arms 37 taper toward each other to bring the upper portions of the edges 26 into contact. Due to the rounded form of the spring bight, the adjacent portions of the holster sides 24 bulge outwardly, as in FIGS. 2 and 4. Therefore, as a revolver is being swung to present the muzzle thereof forwardly, there is little resistance by the inner faces of the holster sides against such movement since the end of the muzzle readily passes between the enlarged bight of the spring while the end of the muzzle is still rearward of the edges 26 of the holster sides since said bight, which is the base portion of the spring is substantially rearward of said edges 26.

As the above movement of the revolver is continued, the end of the muzzle thereof gradually passes between the portions of the inner ply 21 that cover the arms 37 gradually spreading said edges 26 against the bias of said arms until the muzzle is pointed forwardly.

In the present case, the above-described holster body is provided with the hanger 11 which is fastened to the side of the holster that, when worn, is adjacent the wearer, a space 44 being provided between the holster and the hanger to accommodate the skirt of the wearer's tunic or jacket. Said space is also used to accommodate the mentioned quick release means that retains the safety strap 14 in place, as shown.

Said strap is connected by a swivel pivot 45 to the outer side of the holster and spans across the upper end of the holster body over the hammer of the revolver, the free end of said strap being provided with one element 46 of a snap fastener, the other element 47 of which is provided on a member 48 that is pivotally connected, at its lower end, by a stud 49 to the outer ply of the inner holster portion 24L A pocket 50 in said outer ply houses the lower end of the member 48 in a manner to allow the same limited play or movement that enables the user to flip an upwardly extending end of member 48 in a direction toward the hanger 11, thereby effecting a quick release of the snap fastener 46-47 whereby the holster wearer may have easy and rapid access to the revolver so the same may be vertically extracted from the holster. 4

It will be noted that the user has easy access to the upper end of member 48 so such release of the strap 5] may be safely carried out. However, an unauthorized person, even if aware of the present strap-releasing means, would find it difficult to reach and release the means 15. Moreover, by providing a tab-simulating extension 52 on the outer side of the strap 51, an unauthorized person may be misled into believing the same is a strap release tab, since the pivot 45 may be designed to appear to be a quick-release, and draw such persons attention to it rather than to the abovedescribed quick release means 15.

while the foregoing has illustrated and described what is now contemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A forward draw holster comprising: a two-ply body having a rear portion bent to curved form, the same being provided with an elongated opening closed on all sides to allow the trigger and trigger guard of a revolver disposed in the holster to extend rearwardly therethrough, opposite wing-shaped portions of generally rectangular shape extending from the opposite sides of said rear portion and folded forwardly to form the opposite sides of the holster, said wing-shaped portions extending downwardly from said rear portion to a length to accommodate the barrel and adjacent portions, and the muzzle, of a revolver disposed in the holster,

the upper edge of each of said holster sides sloping downwardly from the upper edge of the rear portion toward the respective forward edges of said sides,

the holster sides, adjacent to their front edges, being provided with pockets between the two plies of the body, said pockets being generally parallel to said front edges of the holster sides, for the upper parts of the height of said sides, and rearwardly curved, for the lower parts thereof, toward the rear edges of the holster sides and away from the forward edges of the holster sides, and

a spring for biasing said forward edges toward each other comprising two slightly converging arms residing in the parallel upper parts of the pockets, the lower ends of said spring arms being rearwardly curved and residing in the rearwardly curved portions of the mentioned pocket, and the lower portions of the rearwardly curved spring arm portion being connected by a rounded bight that extends through the inner plies of the holster sides and across the space, between said sides, that is below the end if the muzzle of a revolver disposed in the holster, the portion of the mentioned spring bight that extends across the space between the holster sides is provided with a non-metallic member that is interposed between the end of the revolver muzzle in said holster and adjacent portions of the spring bight to prevent abrasion-causing contact between the spring bight and the muzzle during movement of the revolver to a generally horizontal position with said muzzle protruding between the 1 side of the holster that is adjacent the body of the wearer, a space being provided between said holster side and the upper end of the hanger, said hangerprovided holster including:

a safety strap spanning across the upper ends of the holster sides and covering the hammer of a revolver disposed in the holster.

a pivotal connection for one end of said strap to the holster side that is opposite to the side connected to the hanger,

a member disposed in the mentioned space between the last-mentioned holster side and the hanger, and

a quick release connection between the opposite end of the strap and the upper end of said member, whereby the holster wearer may quickly release said connection to enable rapid vertical extraction of the revolver from the holster.

i I! 4 1K i 

1. A forward draw holster comprising: a two-ply body having a rear portion bent to curved form, the same being provided with an elongated opening closed on all sides to allow the trigger and trigger guard of a revolver disposed in the holster to extend rearwardly therethrough, opposite wing-shaped portions of generally rectangular shape extending from the opposite sides of said rear portion and folded forwardly to form the opposite sides of the holster, said wing-shaped portions extending downwardly from said rear portion to a length to accommodate the barrel and adjacent portions, and the muzzle, of a revolver disposed in the holster, the upper edge of each of said holster sides sloping downwardly from the upper edge of the rear portion toward the respective forward edges of said sides, the holster sides, adjacent to their front edges, being provided with pockets between the two plies of the body, said pockets being generally parallel to said front edges of the holster sides, for the upper parts of the height of said sides, and rearwardly curved, for the lower parts thereof, toward the rear edges of the holster sides and away from the forward edges of the holster sides, and a spring for biasing said forward edges toward each other comprising two slightly converging arms residing in the parallel upper parts of the pockets, the lower ends of said spring arms being rearwardly curved and residing in the rearwardly curved portions of the mentioned pocket, and the lower portions of the rearwardly curved spring arm portion being connected by a rounded bight that extends through the inner plies of the holster sides and across the space, between said sides, that is below the end if the muzzle of a revolver disposed in the holster, the portion of the mentioned spring bight that extends across the space between the holster sides is provided with a non-metallic member that is interposed between the end of the revolver muzzle in said holster and adjacent portions of the spring bight to prevent abrasioncausing contact between the spring bight and the muzzle during movement of the revolver to a generally horizontal position with said muzzle protruding between the forward edges of the holster sides.
 2. A forward draw holster, as defined in claim 1, in which the lower edge portions of the body sides of the holster, and the rear edge portions of said body sides are connected by stitches that extend from the lower forward corner of the body to the lower part of the bent rear portion of the holster body.
 3. A forward draw holster, as defined in claim 1, provided with a hanger for the holster and affixed to the side of the holster that is adjacent the body of the weaRer, a space being provided between said holster side and the upper end of the hanger, said hanger-provided holster including: a safety strap spanning across the upper ends of the holster sides and covering the hammer of a revolver disposed in the holster, a pivotal connection for one end of said strap to the holster side that is opposite to the side connected to the hanger, a member disposed in the mentioned space between the last-mentioned holster side and the hanger, and a quick release connection between the opposite end of the strap and the upper end of said member, whereby the holster wearer may quickly release said connection to enable rapid vertical extraction of the revolver from the holster. 